Beginner gaiwan

[wheeeee]

hi guys,

new to this forum and also quite new to tea in general, but i do know its something that i enjoy and will enjoy for years to come.

i'm looking to buy a cheap gaiwan (which i have never used before) for me to practice and get used to steeping tea with, in the hopes that i will learn and refine my technique so that i can eventually move on to using yixing pots

any suggestions (not only for gaiwan purchases but also guides)?

[Poseidon]

Hello! Welcome!

If you are looking for a cheap gaiwan I would check ebay or amazon. Im sure there are a lot of tea sites that carry them but the CHEAPEST ive seen has been ebay. Expect 8-15 bucks shipped for a simple white gaiwan. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid= ... &_from=R40

I would also like to say gaiwans, IMO, take a little more technique than yixing pots. I havent burnt any fingers with my yixing while it was a regular occurrence with my gaiwan.

As for technique, check out youtube tutorials. I like the one DBtea just released last week. You should be able to find some decent tutorials with a search! GOOD LUCK!



***Also, I would not reccomend getting a glass gaiwan. I bought one as my first gaiwan and they are basically like grabbing lava.

[wheeeee]

Thanks! I read on here that it was better to practice with cheaper gaiwan first before moving on to the more expensive yixing. i asked for recommendations mostly because i wasn't sure about quality. Are there any stores/sellers on amazon or ebay that you'd recommend as safe?

[theredbaron]

Thanks! I read on here that it was better to practice with cheaper gaiwan first before moving on to the more expensive yixing. i asked for recommendations mostly because i wasn't sure about quality. Are there any stores/sellers on amazon or ebay that you'd recommend as safe?

That, i guess, is to save you money as Gaiwan are much cheaper than Yixing pots. Many people don't stick with drinking tea after the initial attraction has worn off.

Mechanically Gaiwan are more difficult to handle than tea pots. As some have mentioned, burning fingers seems to be a regular occurrence, but also controlling flow is more difficult. I have been drinking tea since more than 20 years, but have never handled Gaiwan. I don't particularly like them either for brewing tea.
Originally Gaiwan were only used to directly drink green tea from. It has only been recent that Gaiwan were used as brewing vessels from which tea is poured into cups.

I guess a cheap small porcelain pot will give you the same results in the taste department as Gaiwan, but will be easier to handle.

something like this, for example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shui-Ping-White ... 566226fc51

[wheeeee]

so with porcelain/ceramic or other non clay gaiwan, is there still the worry of lead or other toxic chemicals? i seem to recall that the glaze can contain lead and cadmium. has anyone done testing on products from these ebay vendors?

[debunix]

A simple, inexpensive porcelain gaiwan with a simple design is not likely to have any glazes you need to worry about.

I have a bunch of these, bought to have matching sets for tea tastings--so I can brew several teas at once under the same brewing conditions. $3.99 each at my local chinatown tea shop:



I still use them occasionally for everyday brewing, and they work fine; I prefer my TeaArtisan pieces because they're prettier and more fun to use, but these are simple and easy. I did scorch the tips of my fingers a few times until I got the hang of it, but a little practice with cooler water goes a long way.

[the_economist]

Brandon has a great video that illustrates elegant gaiwan usage: http://vimeo.com/11412678

[yalokinh]

my advice (but you ultimately decide what you like): get a small one,
75-120ml I think 80ml is the sweet spot for me, but experiment with sizes.

Get a gaiwan with three parts: saucer, cup, and lid.

And finally, use the saucer to lift the gaiwan, you will avoid getting burned this way. Many people seem to not like using the saucer and only use the lid and the cup, but then complain about getting burned. I have never had that problem by using the saucer.

My favorite tea vessel is the gaiwan. It's such a modest, beautiful and elegant vessel to use and I like it better than using yixings.
(please note I still love yixings and pots as well, thats just my opinion)

Like I said, everything is subjective and that;s the beauty of it, you can find your own personal way of doing things.

[Alucard]

use the saucer to lift the gaiwan

+1

The video linked above and in other videos I've seen they don't use the saucer to lift the gaiwan. I do all the time and never had an issue with hot fingers.

[debunix]

+2 on using the saucer. I've gotten rid of otherwise nice teawares that made me burn my fingers--saucer-less gaiwans and shiboridashi without enough rim to protect my fingers.

[William]

I do not use the saucer, but at the same time I do not burn my fingers.

Have a nice day my (tea) friends.

[yalokinh]

everyone has their own way and I'm pretty clumsy haha.

[debunix]

Not so coordinated here either!

[wheeeee]

how do you use the saucer? i assume its something like thumb on the "gai" part of the gaiwan and the rest of the fingers on the saucer?

looks like im going to have to go around the chinatown in my area (nyc) to find some. if anyone is from the area (i recently moved here) and knows some good shops and where they're located, feel free to suggest them!

[devilducklings]

use the saucer to lift the gaiwan

+1
ahahaha...for a time i thought myself belongs to a small circle of gongfu-less new tea drinkers who cant use gaiwan properly without the saucer.
Now i can step out to the light and face the world as I am

As finding small sub-100ml porcelain teapot where i live is close to impossible, I experimented with a 70-80ml handle-less soya sauce pot using the saucer trick. Works good enough.